Women’s chorus sings love songs to offer hope in hard times

“The songs are an antidote to hopelessness,” said Lynne Wilkinson, music director of Persephone's Daughters. “A lot of them are from movies and Broadway shows during the Depression, and they took people out of their lives. People today need that too.”The concert, “Day & Night: The Love Songs...

Whether or not you’re in love, love songs can sweeten tough times. That’s why music director Lynne Wilkinson selected a program of love songs for the spring concert of her female chorus Persephone’s Daughters.

“The songs are an antidote to hopelessness,” said Wilkinson, who started the group nine years ago. “A lot of them are from movies and Broadway shows during the Depression, and they took people out of their lives. People today need that too.”

The concert, “Day & Night: The Love Songs of George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and Cole Porter,” will be at 3 p.m. on Sunday in Plymouth.

The 30-women chorus will sing about 20 songs, including “Night And Day” by Porter, “All The Things You Are” by Kern, and “Embraceable You,” “Summertime” and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” by Gershwin. These songs gained popularity during the Depression and have become American standards.

Although the group usually sings a cappella, it will sing the three-part harmony arrangements with a pianist, Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson, who also is music director at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Plymouth and a social worker at Norwell Knoll Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Norwell, started the group after hearing a similar one perform in New Hampshire.

“I thought it was just very moving,” she said. “It’s a way for women to use their voices and to find their voices.”

Persephone’s Daughters performs two concerts each year and donates all of the proceeds. Money from the fall concert is given to healing and social justice charities; the spring concert proceeds go to the church for use of its space.

“It’s grown into a wonderful group of women who support each other through births, deaths and major illnesses and who share the joy of singing,” she said.

Wilkinson prefers a cappella because it shows the power of voice.

“You depend only on the voice, and the voice can provide the instrumentation,” she said.

Wilkinson said she believes just about everyone can learn to sing if they’re willing to practice. She accepts new members at the start of rehearsal for each concert. Auditions are not required.

“I can’t tell you how many people were told by a teacher not to sing,” she said. “People need to be given permission to sing. This group is a perfect opportunity. The more you sing, the better you get at it.”

As for the name, it was inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Demeter.

“For me, the message is that spring and hope always return,” Wilkinson said. “And that’s what we do. We bring hope to people.”